Thirty police officers have been shot to death in the line of duty so far this year alone, in a trend that, if continued, could easily surpass last year’s numbers by a wide margin.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which catalogues each police officer death, nine of the officers killed by intentional gunfire so far this year were killed since June 1, averaging out to about one police officer shot to death every five days.
By comparison, 48 police officers were shot to death in all of 2019, 28 of which had been killed by this time last year.
Most recently killed was 32-year-old Officer Jonathan Shoop, a police officer with the Bothell Police Department in Washington State, who was killed in a shoot-out after police attempted to pull over a black sedan. He left behind his fiancé.
Two other officers, 45-year-old Officer Edelmiro Garza, Jr. and 39-year-old Officer Ismael Chavez, were shot and killed Monday in McAllen, Texas while responding to a domestic disturbance call.
So far in 2020, 122 police officers have died in the line of duty from causes ranging from 9/11-related cancer to vehicular assault. Fifty-three of those deaths – roughly 43 percent – reportedly were from COVID-19.
Comparatively, 147 officers died in the entirety of last year.